A union activist is offered his job back at the American Red Cross after being abruptly fired during a strike last spring.

Carlos Magdaleno, a medical technician and union activist, was offered his job back at the American Red Cross in February after being abruptly fired during a strike last spring.

At the height of the fight for decent wages and better standards for donor safety, Magdaleno, a five-year Red Cross Medical Technician II, was fired one evening and told to pick up his check the next day.  At the time, Red Cross officials did not give a reason for his termination.

However, Magdaleno, along with nearly 300 other Red Cross medical professionals who are members of SEIU Local 721, had been in negotiations for a new contract since March in an effort to ensure public safety in the blood collection process, improve work conditions, and increase respect on the job. Once in arbitration, the Red Cross revealed it had fired Magdaleno for passing out leaflets at blood donation sites, which is activity protected under the First Amendment.

“My family and I have moved on with our lives and I have found a new calling, but I am relieved to know that workers do not need to fear speaking out for a decent standard of living,” said Magdaleno. “Being fired was very difficult, but I knew I did nothing wrong and the support and vigilance of my coworkers and union won out in the end.”  

Magdaleno, of Buena Park, has a strong personal connection to the work of the Red Cross. In 1981, just before his eight grade graduation, he was stabbed in the heart and rushed to the hospital. He survived open-heart surgery after a massive blood transfusion, but only after doctors declared him dead and notified his grief-stricken family.

“Almost five pints of blood helped save me and I think about that every day I worked at the Red Cross,” said Magdaleno, who is the father of two and worked collecting blood platelets for young leukemia patients.

“In my new life I will continue to support Red Cross employees in every way I can.”

Red Cross nurses, licensed vocational nurses and other medical professionals who help supply blood for trauma centers, hospitals and emergency rooms went on strike for four days at the beginning of May. Red Cross workers reached an agreement in June with support from elected officials, teachers, parents and students in the area.

- Carlos Magdaleno
Former Red Cross worker